Pacific Northwest Continues to Face Snow Storms

Seattle area schools are closed Today (Monday February 11, 2019) and the winter storm dubbed “Snowmaggedon” is expected to continue until Wednesday. People residing in the pacific northwest laugh about the name because they get this amount of snow on a regular basis however it is not the amount of snow but the windchill and temperatures remaining in their teens.

“This is shaping up to be the coldest February that I can remember....if you look at the 10 day forecast, it only gets worse. What happened to our mild winter...is this la Nina doing her thing?” (City Data Forum)

Snowflakes are huge and snow continues to keep people stuck in their houses. This is a region that is accustomed to large amounts of snow however temperatures remain below freezing keeping snow on the ground.

It is easier to understand how the wind chill index when it is described this way:

Wind chill is an index measuring how cold it feels when wind is added to the current air temperature. As the air temperature decreases and the wind speed increases the wind chill value will be higher the faster the cold will hurt you. Frostbite is nothing to ignore as the damage it causes can range from minor irritation to frozen skin such as fingers, ears and nose which may need to be surgically removed. The lesson to take from this is when it is really cold and windy, don’t go outside. If you must then wear gloves, hats, scarfs and jackets to cover exposed skin.

Some people on February 9 were making fun of how the storm because there was nothing to show for the fear people demonstrated on the 8th of February, emptying out shelves and fighting over food as if the world was ending.

MSNBC mentioned that it’s not just snow that was headed towards Seattle but also freezing rain which cause a lot of problems with safety. Freezing rain is rain striking a cold surface and almost instantly freezing. It can be dangerous because the ice that falls is extremely clear and is hard to see on the roads or pavements, making conditions troublesome for those on foot or in cars.

Others have continued to mock the storm and its effect on people from other parts of the country. Maria Bell is from Baltimore so snow like this was not something she was fazed by.

It’s now the snowiest February on record, thanks to the additional flakes that fell at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Sunday evening, bringing the snowfall total for the month to 14.1 inches, according to the National Weather Service. The airport has seen more snowfall over the past week than it typically does in an entire winter season. - The Seattle Times

If you are living in the Pacific Northwest and experiencing the #snowmaggedon, stay warm and be safe! The Seattle Times is continuing to provide live updates of the storm which is expected to continue through until Wednesday.